


Pits of Kaon

by WizardSandwich



Series: the before, the after, and the kibble [1]
Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, M/M, Trans Female Character, a bit of bullshitting canon, anyway aimless is worth less than one corn chip, i should have started with sparkrunner and roller's epic pining but whatever, mentions of prostitution regarding shatterbeam, this is a vast universe full of amazing bots and i started with aimless
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2020-06-26 21:47:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19777072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WizardSandwich/pseuds/WizardSandwich
Summary: Aimless has never been above manipulation or being the worst of the worst. Quickslide is caught in the blasterfire.





	1. Chapter 1

There’s no shortage of corruption in the city of Kaon. Arguably, it’s the worst place on the planet. It’s dejected and appears to be falling apart at the seams. Scum huddle in every corner and the hopeless seem to hide away in every crack and corner.

Aimless revels in it. There’s no arguing it’s horrible, but Aimless is strong and the strong survive here. Here, in their own filth, mechs fight for the right to survive and mechs can be as cruel as they wish. Iacon may be a beacon of light, but it pales in comparison to the sheer and raw truth of Kaon. Truly, mechs can bask in their darkest of thoughts.

Kaon lets Aimless do what he pleases. Even if what he pleases is pressing a knife against his client’s throats.

Shatterbeam shakes under him. His plating clatters. His cables are all pulled taunt in his panic and fear. It’s a delicious feeling to have this power, a rush better than any stimulant.

“You don’t have what you owe me?” Aimless asks, his voice tinged with bored amusement. “Now, what are we going to do about that?”

He feels Shatterbeam’s shaking grow more and more intense. His frame heats up under Aimless as his processors desperately work overtime to find an escape.

“I’ll do anything,” Shatterbeam pleads more than anything. “Anything you want. Just say the word and I’ll do it. Please. You know I’ve got a conjunx to get back to.”

Aimless laughs and it’s dry and cruel. “You know, I thought you were smarter than this, Shatter. You _owe_ me. You’re not the one that’s been wronged in this situation. Do you remember what happened to the last mech that owed me?”

Shatterbeam doesn’t even try to answer the question. He just says, voice shaking, “But I’m useful.”

Aimless snorts at the comment, presses the knife down just a bit harder. Shatterbeam tries in vain to shrink away.

“Oh, really? How so?” Aimless asks. “There’s a million mechs like you. A million more who can take your job. What are you? Shareware, right? A weak little mech to decorate berths. I could find one of you on every corner.”

“No—I know—do you know Megatron?” Shatterbeam doesn’t even rise to the taunts. It’s how Aimless knows he’s losing his touch.

“Fine, fine, we’ll talk,” Aimless says like he’s put upon. “Megatron? I’ve heard of him. Some fighter in the rings or something. Strong mech. Bit flowery if the mechs that go there are right. He’s got that turbofox of a seeker by his side? Starscream?”

“Yeah,” Shatterbeam says. He sounds unsure like he’s not completely sure what he’s going to say next. But he stays quiet, waiting.

Aimless rolls his optics and pulls back, removing the knife from Shatterbeam’s throat. All his cruelty seems to bleed away now that he’s no longer focused on business. “Talk,” he demands.

Shatterbeam still makes him wait, bringing a servo up to his throat to check for damage. Never let it be said the mech would let himself bleed out.

When he’s satisfied, Shatterbeam drops his servo. He straightens so he’s no longer leaning against the alley wall. “Alright, alright, so Megatron… you know he’s trying to start a revolution, right? Or at least, that’s what he claims. He needs to bolster his numbers now or something in order for it to work, I guess. Not that I believe him. Pit, I wouldn’t work for the mech if I have the choice but my conjunx thinks he’s gre—”

“Get to the point,” Aimless says, waving his servo in frustrated dismissal.

“Fine. You really are just pissy when you’re not threatening me,” Shatterbeam huffs. “I’m supposed to be looking for potential recruits for Soundwave to look into or some slag like that. It’s good to have Soundwave look into them all or something. I don’t get it, but whatever.”

Aimless stares at Shatterbeam for a moment, unimpressed. The mech is stupider than he has ever given him credit for, even in all their years of business and berthsharing. “So you want me to waive your debt so you can recruit me to what? Megatron’s amateur revolution?”

Shatterbeam vents slowly and crosses his arms. “I don’t know, Aimless. Mechs seem to believe in him. It’s your chance to be a part of something big. And all it’ll cost me to show you there is just forgetting I owe you anything at all.”

Aimless sighs and throws his knife so that the handle hits Shatterbeam’s chest. He’s always been too soft on this particular pleasurebot. Really, he doesn’t want to think as to why. “I remembered why I don’t like you. You never shut up.”

“I’m told,” Shatterbeam says, leaning down to pick up the knife and twirling it in his digits. “That a yes, big bad?”

“It’s not a no. Introduce me to Megatron and we’ll see,” Aimless half-agrees.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> made the executive decision that kibs should be in this fic

Overture is the nicest bar in Kaon, run by the nicest bartender in Kaon. Quickslide likes to pretend it’s the only bar in Kaon, even if Vanguard hates it.

“Why’d you ask me to come if you hate it here, ‘Guard?” Quickslide asks, tipping back his cube and downing the tart mixture. It’s good. Too good for a place like Kaon, but, well, Quickslide isn’t going to complain if Sparkrunner thinks it’s the best place for business.

Vanguard scoffs, “As if I could get you anywhere else. You’re pickier than you have any right to be, all things considered.”

“’All things considered?’” Quickslide asks, amusement coloring his voice. “What? You slogging through all that paperwork for the sake of little old me?”

Vanguard vents out a huff, taking a sip of their own drink. Their face scrunches at the bitter taste. “Shouldn’t have gone through all the effort,” they proclaim with a shake of their helm.

Quickslide laughs. Vanguard only gets more and more gruff as they get older, but Quickslide has never taken it personally. He’s always been well aware that Vanguard loves him in every shanix his mentor saves and tucks away for him.

“So what’d you need me for, ‘Guard?” Quickslide asks as he checks his chronometer. He only has a little while before he has to get to a race on the other side of Kaon. A legal one. He can’t drag this out.

“I know you’ve been short on shanix,” Vanguard says.

Quickslide nods. That wasn’t a secret to Vanguard. Both of them tended to be poorer than poor. Most mechs in Kaon did, with few exceptions. Sparkrunner was the only mech Quickslide knew with enough shanix to eat every cycle.

Quickslide shrugs, “I can get by for a bit longer if I have to.”

“I know,” Vanguard says, “but I have some news for you.”

Quickslide sets down his empty cube, leaning forward to rest his chin in his servo. “Good news?”

“Excellent news,” Vanguard confirms. “You heard about the fights, right? The ones that the Enforcers are trying to crack down on? With the miner?”

“The miner…” Quickslide tries to place who Vanguard’s talking about. “You mean Megatron?”

Quickslide has heard of Megatron in passing, though never much more than a whisper. He mostly existed in passing rumors that slid through the alleyways and down the streets, but Quickslide has heard enough to know he’s brutal.

“That’s the mech,” Vanguard says with a nod. “Anyway, the fighting rings are looking for some mechs to be couriers or something. Apparently, they’re looking to expand their horizons. Got something twisting around in the shadows down there and, well… you know that this much talk means something big.”

“Or it could be a bust,” Quickslide points out. “You know that the Enforcers have been hanging around recently, looking for him. Because of what he did in the mines.”

Vanguard sighs, leaning back in their seat. They bring their servo to their brow, taking a deep breath before dropping it again. “Look, kid, it’s a job. It doesn’t matter if the Enforcers want to take him out for a couple of pretty word. It’s the best that you’re going to get. Especially if you want out of Kaon.”

Quickslide feels a lump grow in his throat. He’d never expressed that desire to Vanguard, but they’d clearly caught on. He looks down at his empty cube to avoid meeting their optics. He can see his reflection in the glass, the flaky blue and gold paint and the bright gold optics that stare back at him.

“You’re okay with that?” Quickslide asks.

“It’s what you want,” Vanguard says, as if that’s all that matters. “If you want to leave, you have to grab your chance by the throat and take it, Quickslide. I won’t be mad about it.”

“Maybe.” Quickslide clenches his servo. His lifts his optics to meet Vanguard’s again. Their red optics are intense and pleading and their expression is serious and stern. They really want him to do this, to take this chance. Without them.

“You’re sure?” Quickslide asks, quieter this time.

Vanguard nods, “A mentor should always want the best for their charge, even if it’s not what they want.”

Quickslide’s servo shakes. He checks his chronometer. The timing, the out, are so perfect. His sits up straight, dropping both of his servos in his lap. “I have a race. Send me the details.”

Vanguard doesn’t get a word out before Quickslide slips out of the booth. He rushes out of the bar without another word. He’ll apologize for leaving Vanguard the bill later, but for now he has places to be. He has things to think about.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it was asked that i post a pic of aimless! i have about half of his design done so here's [that!](https://wost-wight-cmo.tumblr.com/post/612818987878907904/i-love-one-1-bastard-man-oc-a-little-makershot)
> 
> there's a bit of a time jump between this and the last aimless chapter!

“Where is Redline?” Aimless asks.

Rapidfire turns to face him. Shatterbeam is draped over his laps like a prized pet. She looks away again after another moment. She hates what her conjunx has been reduced to, but ridding themselves of debt doesn’t keep the energon flowing.

“Redline is almost at the delivery point,” Rapidfire says. She tries to keep her emotions out of her voice. It is not as easy as she would hope it to be. “Swindle is meeting her with the shanix.”

Aimless nods wordlessly. “Has there been any news on the opening?” he asks. “We need to be running efficiently or Lord Megatron will have the terms to terminate our contract.”

The implication there is that he’ll kill them all. Rapidfire has no doubts that Aimless already has a plan ready to keep _himself_ alive. He trusts and believes in Megatron as far as he can throw him, which is to say: he doesn’t believe in Megatron at all.

But a job is a job, especially in a mech like Aimless’ optics. He wants what he wants and he’ll do what he has to do to get it. In this case, it’s shanix.

“One of my contacts, Vanguard, has a mech that they recommend. He’s apparently one of the faster bots in Kaon.”

Rapidfire hates to throw Vanguard under the bus, but if things go sideways she doesn’t want to end up with the blame. Blaming Vanguard means that they’ll be the one Aimless hunts down and makes owe a debt. Not that Vanguard didn’t already owe more shanix than they could count. Kaon was a cruel place.

“Do we have his information?” Aimless is shifting in his seat when Rapidfire looks up at him again. Shatterbeam has left his lap to bring him fuel. “Shatter, why don’t you go take a break with your conjunx once we’re done here?”

The words are more order than suggestion and Shatterbeam lights up. He hands Aimless his energon and practically bounces to Rapidfire’s side.

“Vanguard says they’ll send it as soon as he accepts the job,” Rapidfire reports dutifully. She wraps her arm around Shatterbeam’s waist as she does.

“Good. Now go,” Aimless demands.

Rapidfire is quick to drag Shatterbeam out of the room and the warehouse. The warehouse that Aimless had stationed them in is small, but it has enough storage for the supplies that came in and out. Most of it wasn’t even for the Decepticons, but for other partners. Megatron would have fumed if he’d known, but Rapidfire knew her place. Aimless would not take kindly to her reporting such a thing to Megatron.

“Where are we going to fuel?” Shatterbeam asks, taking her servo in his. “Overture?”

Rapdifire shakes her helm. They were on a tight budget for now. Trips to Overture were to be limited until they weren’t barely scraping by. It wouldn’t do to owe Aimless another debt.

“I figured we’d refuel with Vanguard,” Rapidfire says. “They’re supposed to be at Gigabyte.”

Gigabyte was a lackluster bar where the poorer mechanisms of Kaon tended to go, the one’s that couldn’t afford decent fuel. Rapidfire had gone there a lot in her younger years and Shatterbeam had been there often enough.

“I thought that was a Decepticon bar now,” Shatterbeam says, servo tightening. Shatterbeam didn’t hate the ‘Cons but he didn’t like them either. Rapidfire was completely aware that he only stayed for her sake.

“Vanguard’s joining, I think,” Rapdfire says carefully. “They need the shanix, I guess.”

Shatterbeam’s expression falls into disgust. They’ve both done a lot of things for shanix. Vanguard was older. Their uses were more limited than that of younger mechs like Rapidfire and Shatterbeam.

“Any reason? They’ve never been eager to dip their pedes into more illegal things, especially something like this.”

Rapidfire shakes her helm, “I don’t know. I figure it must be something though, for them to decide something like this.”

Shatterbeam’s servo clenches tighter around hers. Gigabyte comes into sight as they walk. The bar’s front is rundown and falling apart, a testament to just how badly it’s functioning. When they arrive at the door, it lags and takes a moment to open. The inside of the bar itself smells rusty and old.

Rapdfire takes a moment to look around, before they spot Vanguard across the bar. Moving swiftly, she and Shatterbeam move to the small table. Her seat rocks as she sits down and she has to steady Shatterbeam as he tries to balance himself.

“Vanguard,” Rapidfire greets.

“Hello,” Vanguard says.

Rapidfire hesitates for a moment before setting a servo on Shatterbeam’s elbow, “Dearest, could you get us some energon?”

Shatterbeam nods, standing again, “Gotcha, ‘Fire. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Rapidfire can only hope that he doesn’t get held up, but he’s a grown mech. He can take care of himself.

“Has that bit of yours accepted the job?” Rapidfire asks.

Vanguard shakes their helm, “He said he’d think about it. It’s good enough for me. I imagine he’ll tell me soon enough.”

Rapidfire nods, “Well, tell him that the offer’s not going to be on the table much longer. Aimless wants to have the spot filled soon.”

Vanguard says, “I’ll be sure to tell him.”

That’s as good as a promise as she’ll get from Vanguard. Which will have to be enough. Everyone in Kaon knows what promises are worth. To take words to spark would be stupid. Even Sparkrunner knows as much and he’s probably the happiest mech in Kaon. Funny what shanix did to one’s mood.

“Why are you coming to work for Aimless, anyway?” Rapidfire asks, looking behind herself in an attempt to spot Shatterbeam. Her conjunx is waiting at the counter for their cubes. “I didn’t think you would ever get into the ‘Cons.”

“I need the shanix,” Vanguard says. “I’ve been having health issues lately. I need to see a medic.”

It does not sound like a lie, but it’s not the complete truth either. Vanguard has something that they don’t want to tell Rapidfire about. Fair enough, all things considered.

“Will you make it long enough to get help?” Rapidfire asks.

Vanguard looks down at their cube and stares at it for a long moment. “I can only hope,” they say finally. “But, enough about me. How have you and the conjunx been?”

Rapidfire makes a face at the turn of conversation. She hates talking about that kind of thing, mostly due to Shatterbeam’s current occupation. “Well enough,” she says diplomatically.

“Conjunx still shareware?” Vangaurd asks, though not cruelly.

It still makes anger bubble in Rapidfire’s spark, but she pushes it down just like she usually does. “Yes,” she says. “I wish he wasn’t but we all do things that we don’t want to do.”

Vanguard gives a dry laugh, “I’ll drink to that.”

“Drink to what?” Shatterbeam says, as he sets his and Rapidfire’s cubes on the table. Rapidfire quickly picks hers up and begins to sip at it, eager to distract herself. “Joining the ‘Cons? Rapidfire said that you might do that.”

“I plan to,” Vanguard tells Shatterbeam, which completely derails the conversation from its previous topic. Rapidfire is thankful. “It’s not my first choice, mind you, but Swindle’s offering good shanix for any bot who’s good with numbers.”

“And you are?” Shatterbeam asks.

“I used to help with the races,” Vanguard admits. “I was overturned when the staff had to be replaced due to Enforcer suspicion.”

“That’s slag,” Shatterbeam says, picking up his energon and taking a drink. “So now you’re working for Swindle?”

“He does interviews.”

An oddity in and of itself. It wasn’t often that a bot could be picky in who they hired.

“Ah.” Shatterbeam takes another drink of his energon. “Do you think you’ll make the cut?”

“Maybe,” Vanguard says uncertainly. “Hopefully.”

Shatterbeam nods. His cube is empty in the next moment. He has never been able to savor his fuel like other bots. Rapidfire never could either. She finishes moments after Shatterbeam.

“Time to go back to work,” Rapidfire says and she hopes the bitterness doesn’t seep into her voice. “Ready to go?”

Shatterbeam frowns but nods, “Yeah. See you later, Vanguard.”

Vanguard gives a polite nod as the two of them stand and leave. Rapidfire wishes that they could stay longer. Anything to stay away from Aimless.


End file.
